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How to wake up in the morning. Do you wake up grumpy or do you wake up happy? Here are some tips.
Sometimes it is what we put in our head at bedtime that defines the next day
Bounce out of bed with a happy face and a cheery disposition.
Wake up, Be Happy!! Happy is good. Grumpy generally not so good. Both are states of mind. Both can be manipulated with practice and desire. So wake up, be happy. Or wake up and be grumpy.
On my two days off from happy I am not grumpy I am serene. Not happy more like blissful.
Here are things that have little effect on how you wake up: Amount of sleep. Quality of sleep. General Health, money, weather, job, stress. "Strange" you may be thinking. Those things effect my mood and my affect greatly. Why don't they effect my attitude when I wake up. Sometimes it is not where you are at, that has the greatest impact but where you are headed.
Oops I just gave away this whole article. If you think deeply about that last sentence you will conclude and understand the whole concept of waking up happy.
How do you wake up?
Do you wake up happy
Waking up and the child
I like speaking of 3-5 year olds they can relate but they still act in a "if I do this then I get that" direct and honest fashion. And the are great believers in the power of anticipation. I have found over the years that a child will wake up the way you program him to. If he wakes up and immediately feels in need of something you can offer him he will act in accordance with a proven method to get that.
Most two parent households have on parent that rewards good behavior and ignores negative for the most part. And one parent that rewards good behavior and sympathizes with grumpiness, crying and wants of the whim. Of course life is a blend and in a healthy situation those are just leanings not compulsive behaviors. I refer to the first as the dad and the second as a mom. I certainly do not suggest that as a rule by any means, just an easy way to talk about it.
If his mom is not home when he wakes up and he is used to her being home. There is concern. And then the child shakes it off and moves on. Because he knows that with dad his whining and grumpiness will just be ignored. If mom is home and he is groggy as he wakes up whining and crying will get him through this patch of tough time with whatever he asks for.
So we teach the child how to wake up.
Now for the good stuff
Did you know that it is instinctual to wake up crying?
For sure for sure. A baby needs to be feed every few hours. A baby needs hugs and to be held. So when a baby wakes up it cries out. Saying feed me, hold me, change me. That is how it works and it works well for the parent also as an alarm that the baby is up and needs these things. Cool huh! Well that is an instinct that we seriously need to gradually teach a child out of. Sometimes it is hard for good moms to do that. And harder for them to teach themselves out of responding to it.
The fact that it is difficult means that it will come gradually. And that is another amazing fact. Because of the desire of a mom to be needed like that. She resists the changes. That is awesome because it causes a gentle well developed change.
I used the child because it is so obvious in them but it is really a metaphor for adults. How much of that instinct did we retain when it was no longer necessary or practical.
Think about this: When most adults get up, they still need to go to the bathroom (get changed), get something to eat (be fed) and it is most healthy to get some warm fuzzies (be hugged and held)
This early developing child woke up starting around 2.5 years demanding things she was done with the crying.
OK with all the negative out of the way here is the key to waking up happy
Anticipation. Yep that simple. What can you hardly wait to get out of bed to do? ( pee pee aside ;-) Well if your answer is nothing chances are you will wake up instinctual and not as you should have been nurtured to do. Grumpy. This time of year I get up early and one reason is the beautiful predawn autumn sky. I just love Orion up there next to the moon. A cup of coffee and a stare into the heavens and baby I am good to go. So I can hardly wait to get up. I really like my quiet time in the morning. If I put off getting up I miss it because the house interferes with that later on. I over imagine how good that tea or coffee is, but it works I just love my first few cups.
Before my boy goes to sleep at night we always talk about something fun to do tomorrow. Some say that gets a child to excited to sleep. Bull, just do it in a cheery mellow way and then close off with "you better get a lot of sleep so you will be ready". Food is a great thing to look forward to in the morning.
There is a hitch, some folks look forward to their grumpy time in the morning. That one is hard to beat. But I get it.
Is there something that you look forward to enough to make you want to jump out of bed and go get it?
I like the morning moon
Comments
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At family gatherings I get up early and boogie the heck out of there, so I do not get in trouble. LoL
Hahaha! Your wife is smart. I can relate to that, except that the method fails me and I am bugged anyway.
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I certainly hope that is by choice fivesenses. My wife is a grumpy first thing, and she likes it. That way no one bugs her until she is ready ;-)
I scurry away until she drinks some tea I make her. Thanks for coming by and commenting.
I am grumpy in the mornings once in a while...interesting
voted and shared.
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I have fallen into a bit of a routine waking up. I get up with Bill. We both finish a piece, publish, then get each other's hot off the press. I like it. Good for HP.
Another very interesting and useful hub by you Eric ; voted up for sure. Enjoy your day.
Eddy.
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When I am on my A game I am both with a good nap in the afternoon. Thanks Gypsy for a very happy comment.
I'm usually a night owl but I do love the early mornings when the sun just comes up and very thing is so shiny, bright and new.
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Faith Reaper that is such a lovely comment. I must admit that I do wake up a little grumpy if I wake up too late and miss my quiet time. I do not use an alarm of any sort. But after a few minutes I agree with God that I needed the sleep and that that was quiet time also. I suppose that is a good lesson not to place the anticipation too paramount.
And I often just look forward to morning prayers. No day is a bad day if you start with those.
Aw, Eric, what a wonderful write here and I just love your attitude about life and all things. As soon as my eyes open, I praise the Lord God and thank Him for another day before I even get out of bed and say a little prayer to start my day. I can relate to having that early morning alone time to enjoy that first cup of coffee with the house all peaceful. My children are grown, but when my granddaughters are up (3 & 5), they beat me up at the crack of dawn for they are so excited about being at "Nanny's" house and I am too! They bring me much joy, as I can tell your sweet little one does. I love looking at the world through their eyes, as it brings back so much wonder and beauty. I do love my quiet time in the early mornings spent with the Lord, before I have to run off to work in the city and my hour commute. Hey, but I have come to actually love that hour drive in, for it allows my mind to prepare for the day and enjoy the beauty of driving on the country roads to the Interstate (which that part is not always so fun). However, I have seen such beautiful sunrises and sunsets on my travels and other sites to praise God about.
I love all of your photos here and your special insight as to waking up happy. Surely, there is something in this world one can think of to be happy when one awakes.
Up and more and sharing
Hugs and love to you and yours,
Faith Reaper
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Me too and my family too -- I avoid them like the plague. I used to try and give my sleepy little wife morning hugs. She did not say anything but I stopped because she really does not like them. Oh well.
I never wake up grumpy even if I feel bad; strange too because my husband and two kids are early morning grouches so you would think that would effect me, but I just avoid them til they get their coffee. Must have been how I grew up, just can't say why. I don't always wake up happy like whoopeee but I am never sad. Surely there is always something to look forward to? Hope if nothing more.
Praying for you, Mhatter!
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But yet you do! And you continue. You are inspiring and I hope people would like to wake up and read your poetry at: http://hubpages.com/@mhatter99
Thank you for your inspiring words. It is hard for one who had so much to wake up to a world so empty. I use to be a sought after orator for the masons. Now I cannot talk. More than 3,000 fans read my poetry each day, but I am losing the use of my hands. The doctors do not know what is wrong.
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Hey Mhatter99, I know where you are coming from. During heavy chemo and especially on chemo days It was really hard to get out of bed some days. That is for the first two weeks. And though I did not feel like I was getting better I understood I was or at least could. So I came to look forward to the fight each day. That is when I learned about poor poor people living in horrible living conditions, sometimes even seeing their children die ill. I did not take the cliche approach - "oh I have it better than them I should be thankful" - poo poo to that. Nope what I learned and remembered was what made them even laugh and play each day --- Hope!
I beg you to focus on better days and hope for them again.Sometimes you might wake up and get up just to hope and when it is bad that is enough.
Thanks for contributing the important facet of this subject.
Thank you for this. Before I got ill, I enjoyed waking up. The world was waiting for me. But now...
Haha! I am not the typical mother, then, by your quick generalization. Sympathizing with whining and such is not a forte of mine, not in children anyway. Probably because it is just a manipulative method most of the time.
Seriously, though - you make a good point. I am not so much of a morning person myself, though I'm not generally grouchy. I just prefer to be up late for my quiet/alone time and to sleep in the early mornings. So, I do become grouchy whenever I'm poked or probed, pushed to get up before I'm ready to. Even when I know I have somewhere to be, I feel like I can sleep until the time I know I need to get up and best not to mess with me before that. Haha. But, truly, I'm not that bad unless someone has a bad tone when speaking or dealing with me in the mornings.
It's much easier once I get going, and seeing those people with the cheering "good morning" smiles on make it so much easier, except when I'm that person and I get the "screw you" looks. ;) Just kidding.
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Ladies and gents, Kathryn is being modest go look at her beach and harbor photos and the great hubs that go with them at: http://hubpages.com/@kathrynstratford
Have no doubt I still do the zombie walk for a bit until I get my morning brew down my throat. But that is just life. My little guy just sometimes comes in my office and sits quietly on my lap for a bit when he gets up -- which we do not expect 3 year olds to do. But for the most part we both wake up and get right to it. Fun to think about.
This is a fascinating way of explaining the concept of being happy or grumpy upon waking, and how it is for kids. I have never really thought of it like that.
I have to get up early most days to go to work. Those days I have a routine in place, so I can get up real quick and get ready in the shortest time possible. Those days I am neither happy or grumpy, although once I get out of bed there's usually some kind of anticipaton for the day.
As for days off, I like to get up and go on a walk down the street (along a beach) and greet the sun as it is rising. I usually bring my camera, a commuter mug of coffee, and my journal with me. That is something I look forward to, and most of the time I do it once over the course of the week.
Thanks for sharing this with us, and have a great day!
~ Kathryn
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Truth. Brother at your age we are all lucky you get out of bed. Let the pie stay in the sky for awhile longer it will still be there when you get there. Happy day.
I love the early mornings and have no trouble hopping out of bed...at my age, Eric, I would be a fool not to be happy just waking up. LOL
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